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Saturday, September 5, 2015

Up from the depths, "Fathom" Volume 3 review

Fathom Volume 3

The comic book “Fathom” debuted in 1998 amid a wave (no pun
intended) of acclaim and popularity. “Fathom” creator Michael Turner’s gorgeous
renderings of “Witchblade” had earned him a sizable and enthusiastic fan base
and this new creator-owned book was the ultimate vehicle to showcase his unique
talents, as well as that of inkers Joe Weems and Sal Regla, and colorists
Jonathan Smith and Peter Steigerwald.

The talented young artist’s new creation was embraced by the
comic book world and even the main stream. At one point there was even talk of
a major motion picture event involving none other than James Cameron! It is
easy to understand why Cameron was attracted to “Fathom” because it shares many
elements with “The Abyss” (1989) as well as “Avatar” (2009). Actually, considering that Hollywood pretty
much adapts everything comic book or graphic novel related, I am shocked nobody
has yet made “Fathom” into a movie. Because in the right hands, it would be
amazing.

Yes, “Fathom” features absolutely stunning artwork, images
that will bath over you and entice you to look at then over and over and keep
staring in wonderment. But here is the
thing, “Fathom” is a lot more than pretty pictures. It also features a strong,
emotionally involving storyline written by Michael Turner and Bill O’Neil,
starring a terrific main character.

“Fathom” is the story of Aspen Matthews, a young girl who is
raised by a surrogate father. Her mysterious past eventually catches up with
her and she must come to terms with who she really is and her true heritage—an
underwater species of intelligent humanoid creatures known as “the Blue”. Of
course, when the Blue and Humans encounter each other, it does not go well. It
is the “Abyss” meets “Avatar” meets “Aquaman” with a dash of “Princess of Mars”.

Sadly, Michael Turner passed away in 2008 at the young age
of 37. His legacy and his company (Aspen MLT) live on, as do his characters,
including the wonderful Aspen. But I shied away from reading volume 2 of the “Fathom”
series (circa 2004) since Turner was not drawing it himself. To me it was like
reading a “Conan” book not written by Robert E. Howard or a “Tarzan” not penned
by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Turns out to be my mistake. Copies of the trade
paperback collection of “Fathom” volume 2 are impossible to find, unless you
want to pay several hundred dollars!

But, having just read The New 52 “Aquaman”, I was in the
mood to revisit the character of Aspen, so I took a chance and picked up a copy
of the widely available Volume 3. And I am glad I did. I fully expected the
book to look beautiful and it does. No, Alé Garza is not as good as the late,
great Michael Turner, but he is an outstanding artist in his own right and
really captures the essence of Aspen and the other characters. The colors are
mind-blowingly amazing and the layouts beautiful. The book is gorgeous and I
fully expected that. But what I did not expect, what really blew me away, was
the strong story written by Michael Turner and J.T Krull.

Fathom Volume 3 focuses on an ideological civil war between
two different factions of the underwater humanoids—the Blue and the Black. The
Blue, realizing staying hidden beneath the seas is no longer an option now,
seek to negotiate a peaceful co-existence with the humans. While the Black are
the purists, who see the humans as a dangerous advancing threat that must be
destroyed. The Black are led by Kiani, another great character who is the dark
side of Aspen.

The humans also have ideological divisions and the way the
political subtexts are set up is quite complex and utterly fascinating, particularly
given so many of the recent temporary political debates where any attempts to negotiate
is often derided as “appeasement”, a loaded term referring to Neville Chamberlain
cowering to Hitler before WWII.

In the middle of all this saber rattling and war mongering
there is Aspen, who is part Blue, part Black, and raised by humans. She is
literally a part of all three worlds. In some ways, the story here reminded me
of the brilliant 2014 film, “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,” where Caesar, had
emotional ties to both the human and ape world.

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About Me

James J. Caterino is a freelance writer based in South Florida. The wildly controversial scribe is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh and the Action/Cut school of directing. He is the author of "Technicolor Dreams", "Battle of the Network Superheroes", "The B Girl", the "Caitlin Star" series, "Steel Phantom", "The Selfie", "The Last Neanderthal", "She", "Action Figure", "All About Amy", "Video Noir", "Among the Stars", hundreds of essays, movie, television, and music reviews, screenplays, short stories, and much more. Please visit Jamescaterino.com for more